The 28th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from November 6, 1804, to April 10, 1805, during the first year of Morgan Lewis's governorship, in Albany.

Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1777, amended by the Constitutional Convention of 1801, 32 Senators were elected on general tickets in the four senatorial districts for four-year terms. They were divided into four classes, and every year eight Senate seats came up for election. Assemblymen were elected countywide on general tickets to a one-year term, the whole assembly being renewed annually.

In 1797, Albany was declared the State capital, and all subsequent Legislatures have been meeting there ever since. In 1799, the Legislature enacted that future Legislatures meet on the last Tuesday of January of each year unless called earlier by the governor.

In 1804, Seneca County was split from Cayuga County, and was apportioned one seat in the Assembly, taken from Cayuga.

U.S. Senator John Armstrong resigned on June 30, 1804, after his appointment as U.S. Minister to France.

At this time the politicians were divided into two opposing political parties: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Democratic-Republican Party was split into two opposing factions: the "Regulars" who supported Morgan Lewis, and the "Burrites" who supported Vice President Aaron Burr. Lewis, the Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, had been nominated for Governor by his party, but Burr, after being dropped from the presidential ticket in favor of Gov. George Clinton, ran against Lewis. Burr also received the support of the majority of the Federalists although his enemy Alexander Hamilton, the leader of the Federalists, advocated against it and supported Lewis.

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